Biography

American astronaut, the Science Pilot aboard Skylab 2, the first U.S. space station mission, which launched on May 25 and terminated on June 22, 1973. With him for the initial activation and 28-day night qualification operations of the Skylab orbital workshop were Charles Conrad, Jr. as spacecraft commander and Paul J. Weitz as pilot.

A member of NASA’s team from 1965 to 1978, Kerwin was the first medical doctor in space. A Captain with the U.S. Navy, he attended school in Illinois and in Worcester, MA, where he earned his BA in 1963. His MD degree was from Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1957, after which he completed internship at the General Hospital in Washington, D.C. He attended the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Medicine at Pensacola, FL and was designated a naval flight surgeon in December 1958. He earned his wings at Beeville, Texas, in 1962 and has, since then, logged 4,500 hours flying time. He has brown hair and blue eyes, is 6’ tall and 177 lbs.

Kerwin married Shirley Ann Good and their children are Sharon (9/14/1963), Joanna (1/05/1966) and Kristina (5/04/1968).

Kerwin was subsequently in charge of the on-orbit branch of the Astronaut Office. In this capacity, he coordinated astronaut activity involving rendezvous, satellite deployment and retrieval, and other Shuttle payload operations. He served as NASA’s senior science rep in Australia from April 1982 until December 1983, working as liaison between NASA's Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems and Australia's Department of Science and Technology.

By 1995, Kerwin was making public presentation for NASA's Space Station Exhibit. Dr. Kerwin is the Director of Space and Life Sciences, Johnson Space Center where he is responsible for direction and coordination of medical support to operational manned spacecraft programs, including health care and maintenance of the astronauts and their families; for direction of life services, supporting research and light experiment project; and managing JSC earth sciences and scientific efforts in lunar and planetary research. His recreational interests are reading and classical music.